Barcelona Wine Bar Shut Down by Health Department (Updated)

Scene-y 14th Street tapas joint Barcelona Wine Bar is closed Monday after being shut down by the DC Health Department.

According to a health inspection report, there was no hot water, standing water on the basement floor, and live roaches in the bar and basement. The restaurant was cited for 12 violations in total, including cutting boards in poor repair, no thermometer in the reach-in fridge, and other minor problems.

A note on the door said simply that the restaurant was having a “hot water heater malfunction.” Meanwhile, an employee said pipes frozen overnight might potentially be to blame. He then passed the phone to a manager, who referred Washingtonian to the marketing department of Barcelona’s Connecticut-based parent company and declined to comment. No one from the marketing department was available.

“Barcelona Wine Bar on 14th Street is open. The restaurant was closed yesterday due to a malfunctioning water heater. It was accurately reported that the location was shut down by the Health Department. What was not made clear in reports is that the shutdown was issued solely because of our temporary lack of hot water.

The DOH inspector was present as plumbers were actively working to fix a faulty mixing valve that broke in the early morning hours on Monday, December 19th when the restaurant was vacant. In the midst of extensive plumbing repair work in the basement, there were roaches observed. Plumbing work is now complete.

At Barcelona, we have very high standards and take great pride in keeping our restaurants up to code—that’s why all other points raised by the DOH during the inspection have also been addressed. To be clear, at no point did the inspector observe any food contamination—the details are all available in the report online. We thank the Health Department for their diligence and working closely with us on the re-inspection and approval to re-open.

Jessica Sidman covers the people and trends behind D.C.’s food and drink scene. Before joining Washingtonian in July 2016, she was Food Editor and Young & Hungry columnist at Washington City Paper. She is a Colorado native and University of Pennsylvania grad.